My first week as a New York Nanny!!

So I just finished my first week as a nanny. It has gone better than I imagined. I have really made a connection with the little boy, the family, and the rest of the staff. I did have one tough day but since then, it has been great.

My Daily Routine:

Wake up around 6:30 to get ready before William wakes up. Eat breakfast, then go get William if he hasn't already found me. After he is awake, I get his breakfast ready. He usually eats breakfast with his mom while I make his bed and take his laundry to the laundry room and tidy up a bit. After breakfast, his mom or I will get him dressed and ready for school. His mom usually takes him to school. After they leave, I usually go back to my room and take a little 30 minute nap, if I am really tired. I haven't been sleeping really well at night so I am extremely tired. Last night the wind was so wild, I thought my windows were going to bust open. It was so loud. I have never heard anything like it. Well, after my nap or after they leave I organize his room, the play room, the play closet (which I have determined to be unorganizable with that many toys ), iron ALL of his clothes (I mean ALL of his clothes, including his underwear and there are certain ways to fold everything, even his socks), clean my room, do some things in my room, get something prepared (either an art project or some type of game) for when he gets home from school, and so much more. When he gets home, I usually give him a snack, we play together, or do some sort of project together. He loves art projects and so do I, so we have done a few of those. It was snowing last week so we made a snowman with snowflakes around it. It turned out great! Today we painted pictures of fire so we could play with firefighters later and put out the fire. It was a lot of fun. Usually that takes up most of the time until it is time to get ready for dinner. They have a cook but he is allergic to a lot of things so if he can't have what she is cooking, I have to make his dinner. He likes to watch tv while eating so we watch Power Rangers or Mister Rogers and it takes him a while to finish. After dinner I usually get his room ready for him. I turned down his bed and pull his blinds down. If his parents are home, they usually give a bath and put him to bed, otherwise, I do it. The first night I started working I was able to put him to sleep, which I found out the next day that it is quite a miracle I was able to do it. During the weekend, his parents will take him out and spend sometime with him, that is when I get some work done around the house. I get to go to church on Sundays and at the time, his parents will take him to lunch or have an activity planned for that day.

The Family & Staff:

His parents are really envolved in his life and love him very much. He has two older brothers who are 14 and 16. They usually keep to themselves but they will both play with Will occassionally. The family has been great. I don't usually see the father that much during the week. The mom and I have really hit it off. We talk a little too much sometimes. She has been fantastic to work for. She has made everything so easy for me. There are a total of 5 employees, including myself, that work for the family. There is a full time cook from Sunday night to Friday morning. There are 2 housekeepers, one works from Thursday to Monday and the other one works Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday. They also have a personnal assistant and she works Monday to Friday. And then there is me who works Thursday to Monday. The cook is from the Phillipines and is a little older, she is a little anal about somethings. She comes across as being really rude but everyone else just says thats the way she is and don't take anything personnal. She is kind of like the grandma of the group. One time I had to eat my lunch really quickly before I had to go get Will and I wasn't sitting with my legs off to the side of the chair and she told me to sit properly. and made a little sound like she was annoyed. At the time I thought it was a little rude but now I just think it is funny. She doesn't have much family here but has worked for this family for 3 years. The full-time housekeeper is also from the Phillipines. Her her husband and her 2 children still live in the Phillipines. I don't know how she does it being so far away from her children, I can't remember how old they are. She is really sweet. Her and I get along really well. She is probably in her forties or fifties. She has worked for the family for 3 months. The other part-time house keeper is from Mexico and also has 2 kids. Her kids are farely young, I think they are 4 and 6. Her kids live in Mexico. She is 25 years old, I think. She is a lot of fun to work with. He english isn't that great but she is working on it. She has worked with the family for 3 years. The assistant is great. She is from Manhattan and is 26 years old. Her and I have a lot of interaction throughout the week. I feel like I am at her desk all the time asking her a question. She is very easy to work with, although, sometimes I feel she talks to me as if I have no idea how to work with children. The other day we were talking about what I used to do and when I told her, I think she finally realized that I do know a little something about kids. She has been with the family for 3 years also.

New York City:

Well, if you have watched the news, you probably have heard about the crazy storms going through the northeast. I haven't really gone outside too much lately because Will has been a little sick. Like I said earlier, it snowed last week. However, it later turned into snow/rain/hail. It was just nasty. It made everything wet and slippery and very cold. It did not feel good outside. I would much whether have snow. Yesterday when I went to church I drove through Central Park and it was covered in snow. This morning all the puddles of water have turned to ice and the snow is basically ice now. The temp has been in the 30 most of the time but the wind is the real killer. It makes it feel so much colder. If you aren't bundled up, then I wouldn't go very far. It is a little strange to be here as a resident opposed to a tourist. Yesterday at church some of the people were complaning about all the tourist, I wanted to raise my hand and say I used to be one of them until just last week. They were mainly complaining out the old tourist. It was a little funny. I am trying to figure out where everything is. When I was here as a tourist I never really made it to the upper east side so I really don't know where things are. If you were to tell me the crossroads, I can find it without any problems.

The Apartment:

For those who don't know Manhattan very well, you will only find apartment buildings in the city. Any houses in this city have been turned into some type of museum and there are only a few of those. The apartment I live in is just 2 blocks east of Central Park, for those that don't know, that is what you call the Upper East Side. We live on Park Avenue. I have no idea how many square feet this apartment is but I know it is a lot. The family occupies 4 bedrooms, with a bathroom for each room. The master bedroom as a his and her bathroom and also a his and hers sitting or dressing room. There is a large play room, you can acutally see Central Park from these windows. We live on the 10th floor. When you enter the building there is a doorman and another man at a desk right inside the entrance. Behind them is 2 elevators for the residents and another elevator through a set of double doors for deliveries or other service workers. When you walk off the elevator to the 10th floor, you walk into a small entry way. There you will find their front door. After walking in, you will be greeting by a large entry way with vaulted ceilings. To the right you will find the dining room (which is rarely used) and the kitchen that is adjacent to the dining room, there is also a hallway to the main kitchen with a small table where the family usually eats. The kitchen is probably my dream kitchen. My mom would love it. It has a total of 2 large ovens and one small oven, 6 burners, 2 large refridgerators and 2 smaller freezers, a nice large stainless steal island with a hole for the garbage (I love that little hole), and a nice large sink. Off of the kitchen there is a kitchen table, where the family usually eats. Back to the entry way, if you were to walk to your left and then trun right before you went into the dining room, you would be in the living room (which is also rarely used). It is decorated with white furniture and very elegant. Off to the right is the den/office. Back to the entry way and go left and you will find yourself in a hallway that will take you to all the bedrooms and at the end is the play room and play closet. There is a doorway off to the side of the front door that will take you to the secretaries desk. My room is located just upstairs from the secretaries desk/room. My room is probably the perfect size. I have a twin size bed, a tv, little sitting area with a table and chair, a decent size closet, and 2 windows that I can see a lot of buildings (they aren't that exciting). I also have my own bathroom that is just outside my bedroom door. I have the only bedroom upstairs so I have a lot of privacy. There is only one other room upstairs and that is the luggage room. Also, off of the secretaries room is the staff room, where we ,the staff, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The laundry room and the other staff bedroom have entrances from the staff room. I don't know if you were able to follow that but that is what makes up the apartment. Next week I will have to tell you about the house in the hamptons is like.

Who I have seen:

While I was walking around NYC last week I noticed this woman and she looked familar. I first thought maybe it was someone I had known but then I looked again and heard here talk and realized it was Marg Helgenburger or better known as Catherine from the tv show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. It was crazy. I was just walking down Fifth Avenue and she was walking right next to me with a friend of hers. I don't think anyone else realized who she was. I guaruntee she will not be the only celebrity I see while I am here.

Goodbye for now:

Well, that is all I have time for. Check my blog often to find out whats going on here in the big city. Love you all and I miss everyone so much so please email or text often to keep my updated on everything going on back home. If you want to call me, just make sure it is on Tuesday or Wednesday when I have a day off so you can have my full attention. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!